Southern Memorial Day Festival Weekend Events

Festival Guides and Reviews published a Southern Memorial Day weekend roundup on May 19 that listed more than a dozen food, music and cultural events across 11 Southern states for May 21-25. The guide named events in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia, with themes that included seafood, strawberries, jazz, art and patriotic programming. The holiday itself falls on Monday, May 25, 2026. Several of the listed events were also confirmed on official tourism, city or festival websites. ### Which festivals in the South were named in the roundup? Festival Guides and Reviews listed the Frog Level Music Festival in Alabama, the Blue Crab Festival in Florida, the Atlanta Jazz Festival and Helen Bavarian Fest in Georgia, and the Banana Pudding Festival in Tennessee, among others. The same post also named events such as the Black Cowboy Festival in South Carolina, Rooster Walk Music and Arts Festival in Virginia and White Squirrel Weekend in North Carolina. The May 19 post described Memorial Day weekend themes as food, cultural, music, art and patriotic events, citing examples including crab and seafood, banana pudding, watermelon, Native American, Caribbean, Asian and Greek festivals. ### Which of those events can be independently verified? The Atlanta Jazz Festival is scheduled for May 23-25 at Piedmont Park, according to the City of Atlanta calendar and the festival's official lineup page. (festivalguidesandreviews.com) The city calls it the 49th annual event and describes it as a free festival with performances, food and merchandise vendors, kid zones and artistic showcases. The Blue Crab Festival in Palatka, Florida, is scheduled for May 22-24 along the riverfront, according to the festival's official website and Visit St. Augustine. Those listings say the event features seafood, live music, vendors, arts and crafts and family activities. The Frog Level Music Festival in Wedowee, Alabama, was scheduled for Saturday, May 23, with events beginning at 7:30 a.m., according to Alabama.Travel. (atlantaga.gov) The state tourism listing says the festival includes live music, family activities and a 5K run in downtown Wedowee. ### What stands out on the music side of the weekend? The Atlanta Jazz Festival lineup includes Kamasi Washington on Saturday, Esperanza Spalding and The Roots on Sunday, and PJ Morton on Monday, according to the official festival schedule. (palatkabluecrab.com) Other listed performers include Christian McBride & Ursa Major, Nicole Zuraitis and Butcher Brown. The City of Atlanta says the festival runs from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. across the three-day weekend. (alabama.travel) City organizers describe it as the nation's largest free jazz festival. ### Where does the food focus show up most clearly? Palatka's Blue Crab Festival centers the food theme most directly in the verified list. Visit St. Augustine says the event is held on Memorial Day weekend and combines seafood with live music and children's activities on the waterfront. (atljazzfest.com) Festival Guides and Reviews also pointed to Tennessee's Banana Pudding Festival as part of the weekend's food-heavy mix, but the official National Banana Pudding Festival site lists its 2026 dates as October 3-4 in Centerville, Tennessee, not Memorial Day weekend. (atlantaga.gov) That discrepancy leaves the Tennessee entry in the roundup unconfirmed for May 21-25. (visitstaugustine.com) ### Are all of the roundup's entries current for this weekend? The Festival Guides and Reviews post presents the list as a Memorial Day weekend guide for May 21-25, but not every named event could be confirmed as taking place during those dates from official sources reviewed. The clearest confirmed entries from the list were Atlanta Jazz Festival, Blue Crab Festival and Frog Level Music Festival. (festivalguidesandreviews.com) The Tennessee banana pudding listing appears to refer to a well-known festival that is scheduled for October, based on the event's official site and the Hickman County Chamber of Commerce calendar. Other events named in the roundup may be current, but they were not independently verified here from primary sources. ### What is still happening after Sunday? The Blue Crab Festival in Palatka ends on Sunday, May 24, according to the official festival site and Visit St. (festivalguidesandreviews.com) Augustine. The Atlanta Jazz Festival continues through Monday, May 25, with PJ Morton closing the final night on the main schedule. (palatkabluecrab.com) (bananapuddingfest.org)